Christmas ... Again

The true meaning of Christmas--it is suggested--is giving. It's love, joy, peace, and good will to men, that kind of thing.
On this view of the season one could imagine God saying, "Well, it's that time of year again, Christmas, the season of giving, the season of joy and peace and good will towards men. Let's see, how will I celebrate this year? I think I'll become a man, sacrifice myself as a gift to mankind. That will be my gift during this time of good will on earth and peace toward men. That would be a fitting statement for this season."
Now, of course, none of these things--peace, giving, etc.--are pathetic in themselves, but they pale in significance to the event which authored Christmas two thousand years ago. The point is that it's God's miraculous act of incarnation that's the very foundation of those things characteristic of Christmas; God's act authored it, gave it substance, meaning and context. To talk about the true meaning of Christmas and not focus on Jesus is to admire the aroma and ignore the meal. If I can turn a literary reference on its side a bit, it's the clothes without the emperor. It reduces Christmas to packages, beautifully wrapped and ribboned with nothing inside. And that is pathetic because of what is lost; it's a pathetic trade-off.